Confrontation

"What are the orders?" Grey stared at the defensive position ahead, asking Qin Mo through his communicator for the next command.

To quickly analyze the data from the first large-scale teleportation and improve the teleportation device, Qin Mo did not appear immediately. He was inside the fortress, observing the outside world through Grey's helmet.

"Tell them to retreat one kilometer and hand over the position in front of the passage to us," Qin Mo commanded, then ceased paying attention to the outside world and focused on analyzing the teleportation data.

Upon receiving the order, Grey immediately thought it was time for battle.

This was because if the other party was stationed outside the blocked passage, they were prepared to stop anyone who managed to open the passage.

The request to take over the position was obviously unlikely to be accepted.

But Grey was prepared for combat. He took a step forward, raised his arm, and said to the general at the position, "Retreat one kilometer, this position is ours."

"But... but this position is for defense..." the general resisted, as expected.

"The passage is blocked, who are you defending against by building such a large position?" Grey took another step forward, his Shoulder Cannon beginning to charge, "Do as I say, or bear the consequences."

The general felt extremely helpless.

In fact, this position wasn't defending against anyone. Since the passage had been blown up, it was impossible for anyone to come out from inside, or at least that's what they thought at the time.

This position was only a small part of the original defensive positions; most of it had already been withdrawn.

But now, a group of people had appeared, making this position very necessary, and they absolutely couldn't give it up.

"Can we... discuss this..." the general walked forward, attempting to de-escalate the situation, "I set up this defense because I received news that the attack plan failed. The collapse of the passage happened after the defenses were established."

"I can understand that you are all very angry right now, feeling like you've been sold out."

"I don't know what you experienced in the underhive, but we all belong to the Planetary Defense Force. We are comrades, we are partners."

"If you want to talk, I, Barrett, am here."

As the general named Barrett continuously approached and attempted to de-escalate, Grey quietly awaited orders from Qin Mo, his Shoulder Cannon and scatter laser ready to fire.

If Qin Mo gave the order to fire, Grey would not hesitate.

"He doesn't seem to be aware of anything, but it's not impossible he's bluffing. Bombard the area where the tanks are parked to the right of the position," Qin Mo commanded.

Grey immediately controlled his Shoulder Cannon to aim at the rear right of the position. A ball of light flew from the Shoulder Cannon, tracing a perfect arc through the air before landing on the target location.

The ball of light exploded in the air, and countless beams rained down on the tanks parked on the ground, like a downpour of light.

Under the "downpour," the tanks' armor gradually melted away, and the metal ground was scorched with numerous pits.

This attack filled Barrett and his subordinates with dread. Although all the tanks were slowly being eroded, if the attack from the person in front of them had targeted the soldiers present instead of the tanks...

"You... you didn't attack the people on the position, you attacked the parked tanks," Barrett raised his hands, "You do want to talk, right?"

"No talking," Grey controlled his Shoulder Cannon to aim at Barrett, "Retreat one kilometer."

Barrett began to hesitate.

At this moment, Grey's Shoulder Cannon began to accumulate energy. Although the energy hadn't yet transformed into a beam, Barrett could already feel the scorching heat.

Barrett turned his head to look at his soldiers.

All the soldiers wore expressions of fear and worry. On one hand, they truly didn't want to fight the army in front of them. On the other hand, they felt they were in the wrong and were questioning the situation.

Because the news they heard when coming to set up defenses was that the First Legion had all died in the underhive. They hadn't sent any distress signals to their superiors, so even if they wanted to send troops for rescue, it would have been too late.

Some of the First Legion were the brothers and sisters of the defenders; they couldn't open fire on the people who had suddenly appeared before them.

"Alright," Barrett nodded, turned around, and waved to his adjutant.

The two sides separated, one withdrawing and the other advancing.

In the Hive City, the situation in the lower and underhives was completely different. Although the sky was invisible in both, and looking up only revealed giant pipes and an endless dark space, the lower hive had the largest population.

By now, many civilians had been attracted out to watch.

Barrett didn't feel ashamed; he only felt lucky. Because these people who had narrowly escaped death hadn't let anger cloud their judgment.

After Barrett and his subordinates retreated one kilometer, Grey and the army behind him also stopped.

"Alright, we've entered a standoff. Have the others begin setting up positions and await negotiations. I will be present personally once negotiations begin," Qin Mo issued his final command, then continued with his important work.

Grey relayed the order. Regimental Commanders like Duncan and Klein immediately began deploying troops for defense, while Logistics Machines helped them fortify and expand the positions.

As Barrett led his troops in retreat, the higher echelons of the Hive City had already been informed of the situation. They began a meeting in the Governor's mansion at the pinnacle of the spires.

The pinnacle was the highest point of the entire Hive City's architecture. Far from the planet's heavily polluted surface, the nobles living here enjoyed the purest air and the most beautiful environment.

Every building was resplendent, and every garden was filled with flora and fauna unseen in the lower and underhives.

The nobles sat in the garden, discussing matters while admiring the artistic creations of metal plants.

"Why is the Governor still not showing up?"

"He's eccentric, you know how he is."

"How should we deal with the mess the Governor left behind? He found a way to get the Marshal killed honorably, and then found a way to deal with his family. Why can't he find a way to deal with these suddenly appearing troops?"

"How else can we deal with them? They're deserters. Execute them all, just like before."

"Are you joking?"

The nobles, mid-discussion, looked uniformly at the Ecclesiarchy representative seated in the center.

"Say something, David. Don't just sit there silent like we're excluding you," one of the noblewomen said.

David was responsible for spreading the Ecclesiarchy's faith throughout Hive Terra and handling all religious matters in the hive-city. His role was crucial; if he declared the First Legion heretical, the planet's hundreds of millions of faithful would form a powerful armed force.

But David remained silent, merely stroking the Psy-cat in his arms.

Seeing his silence, the nobles continued their discussion.

"Let's go to war."

"I agree with going to war."

"Not only must we go to war, but we must also execute Barrett, make him pay for his compromise with the rebels."

"..."

"No, we cannot go to war," David said slowly. Then, under the nobles' gaze, he stood up and declared forcefully, "The First Legion of the local Planetary Defense Force are not rebels; they are unwavering believers in the God-Emperor. Otherwise, they could not have survived in the underhive. The true rebels are the xenos within the underhive."

After speaking, under the nobles' knowing smiles, David turned to leave, adding one last thing, "Let me go negotiate with them."